Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, peace be with you. Today, as we gather to celebrate the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are invited to reflect on the quiet power of faithfulness—on the grace that often moves silently, invisibly, but no less powerfully in the lives of those who love and follow God.
Though Joachim and Anne are not mentioned in the canonical Scriptures, their story has come down to us through a revered early Christian writing known as the Protoevangelium of James, a second-century text that offers a glimpse into the life and faith of Mary’s parents. While the Church did not include this book in the official canon of the Bible—mainly because it was not of apostolic origin and lacked historical certainty—it has nonetheless nourished the Church’s imagination and devotion for centuries. It helps us fill in some of the silences of Scripture with prayerful insight, offering a vision of Joachim and Anne as a couple marked by deep piety, perseverance in prayer, and unwavering trust in God.
According to this tradition, Joachim and Anne were a faithful but childless couple living in Jerusalem. In a culture that equated childlessness with divine disfavor, they bore not only personal sorrow but public shame. Yet their response was not despair. They turned to God with persistence, with hope, and with a humility that did not demand miracles but waited in faith. And in time, the Lord answered. He sent an angel to announce the news. Anne conceived in her old age, and their child was Mary—the one full of grace, the future mother of the Messiah. In joy, they consecrated her to the Lord, raising her in holiness, preparing her heart to be a dwelling place for the Word made flesh. Maybe this is one of the reasons why Mary was not afraid of the Archangel when he appeared to her. She had been told by her mother about how an angel appeared also to her concerning her own birth.
As we reflect on their story, we turn to today’s first reading from Exodus. Here, we witness the people of Israel responding to God’s covenant with one voice: “We will do everything that the Lord has told us.” Moses seals this covenant with the blood of sacrifice, an outward sign of the people’s inward dedication. It is a dramatic moment, but one that foreshadows the kind of covenant Joachim and Anne lived daily—not through spectacle, but through quiet, enduring obedience to God. Like the Israelites at Sinai, they made a covenant with the Lord—not just in words, but in a life offered back to Him, especially through their care and formation of Mary.
The Psalm today invites us: “Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.” Joachim and Anne did just that. Their praise was not merely spoken, but lived—in the long days of ordinary life, in the hidden service of the home, in their patience and humility. They remind us that the most enduring sacrifices are often unseen. Their offering was Mary, raised in the ways of the Lord, who would one day offer her own fiat, her “yes,” to the angel and to the mystery of the Incarnation.
And then we come to the Gospel, where Jesus tells the parable of the wheat and the weeds. It is a parable of patience and discernment. The field, meant to bear good fruit, has been sown with weeds by an enemy. The temptation is to act quickly—to purify the field immediately—but the master wisely cautions: “Let them grow together until harvest.” God sees more clearly than we do; He knows how to preserve the good without harm. And so He waits.
Joachim and Anne lived in such a field, a world where holiness and brokenness coexisted. They could have responded to the injustices of their time with resentment or cynicism, but they chose trust. They lived with the patience of the sower, knowing that God’s timing is perfect. They did not see the fullness of God’s plan in their lifetime. They did not witness the miracles their grandson would perform, or hear His teaching, or stand at the foot of the Cross. But their faith helped prepare the way. Their steadfastness nurtured Mary’s openness. Their hope planted seeds whose harvest would be gathered in God’s time.
And so, what can we learn from these quiet, holy grandparents of Jesus?
We learn that faithfulness in obscurity is not wasted. We learn that perseverance in prayer, even when God seems silent, is never in vain. We learn that the work of planting seeds—whether in children, in communities, or in the quiet corners of our own hearts—is sacred work. And most importantly, we learn to trust God’s timing, to let the wheat and weeds grow together, confident that the Lord of the harvest will not forget the labour of love we have offered.
Today, let us honour Saints Joachim and Anne not only with prayers and devotion, but by imitating their trust, their quiet courage, and their hidden holiness. Let us imitate them most especially in their love for God and in their love for their precious child, who is now our own Heavenly Mother and Queen. Let us ask for their intercession, especially for our families, for our grandparents and elders, and for all who are called to raise children in the faith in a world that often misunderstands the things of God.
Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us. Our Lady, Queen of all Families, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.
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